The Latest: Mississippi governor for 15-week abortion ban

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is indicating he will sign a bill that would set the earliest abortion ban in the United States.

Senators voted Tuesday to pass a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Republican Bryant said on Twitter that he wants Mississippi to be “the safest place in America for an unborn child,” and he thinks the bill would help achieve that goal.

The bill, House Bill 1510, returns to the House. If representatives agree with some changes made by senators, the bill would go to the governor.

The owner of the only abortion clinic in Mississippi opposes the proposal.

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12:50 p.m.

Mississippi senators have passed a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Senators voted 35-14 Tuesday to pass House Bill 1510. It was being held for the possibility of more debate, sending it back to the House.

If it becomes law, the measure would be the earliest ban in the nation. The move comes as abortion opponents nationwide are probing whether the U.S. Supreme Court will approve laws that limit abortion before a fetus is viable outside the womb.

The measure would prohibit abortions 15 weeks after the pregnant woman’s last menstrual period. The only exceptions are a mother’s medical emergency related to the pregnancy or a fetal medical abnormality that makes it “incompatible with life.”

Senators amended the bill to strip out possible felony charges for physicians who perform abortions later than 15 weeks.